Despite being first demonstrated over 160 years
ago, and offering significant environmental benefits and
high electrical efficiency, it is only in the last two
decades that fuel cells have offered a realistic prospect
of being commercially viable. The solid oxide fuel cell
(SOFC) offers great promise and is presently the
subject of intense research activity. Unlike other fuel
cells the SOFC is a solid-state device which operates
at elevated temperatures. This review discusses the
particular issues facing the development of a high
temperature solid-state fuel cell and the inorganic
materials currently used and under investigation for
such cells, together with the problems associated with
operating SOFCs on practical hydrocarbon fuels.